GAME 5 | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (2-2) at B.C. LIONS (1-2)
THE 4-1-1
Kickoff: 9:00 p.m. CT, Saturday; B.C. Place
TV: TSN, ESPN-+
Radio: CJOB
Vegas line: Off the board, pending the Lions starting QB decision.
Streaks: Winnipeg: 1W; B.C.: 2L
Home/Road: The Bombers are 1-1 on the road this season and 14-6 in their last 20 games outside of Manitoba. The Lions are 1-0 at home this year, having beaten Montreal in their opener.
Series (since 1954): Winnipeg leads with a record of 90-79-2.
Recent history: Winnipeg is 4-2 in its last six regular season visits to the west coast; 4-3 if you include the 2016 West Semi-Final loss to the Lions.
3 STORYLINES
1. A LIONS QB CAROUSEL?
All signs point to veteran Travis Lulay replacing Jonathon Jennings at the controls of B.C.’s offence, as head coach Wally Buono looks to spark an offence that has under performed in the last couple of weeks. Jennings has yet to throw for 200 yards in the first three starts this season and was held to just 105 yards last week against the Bombers while being picked off twice by Adam Bighill, the second mistake returned for a TD.
Lulay is coming off knee surgery and has been given the green light to play from club doctors. He is 42-27 in his career as a starter and 5-4 against Winnipeg – 6-4 if you include his work in the 2011 Grey Cup which he capped a CFL Most Outstanding Player season by being named the MVP in the championship.
Interestingly, one of Lulay’s best friends in the game is Bighill, who – like a lot of CFL fans – is excited to see the quarterback healthy and back in the game. That won’t stop him from stealing another pass, or two, if opportunity calls.
“Travis is a guy that has seen so many situations he knows maybe a little bit more where to put his eyes and what to look at and, in a sense, give defences more trouble,” said Bighill. “He’s had just a very tough career as far as overcoming injuries and being the ultimate pro and battling back and playing his role in doing what he can to help the team win while being a great leader. He’s a guy that anyone wants in their locker room, a guy that is a great friend to me. Anybody on the outside looking in seems to be happy to see him getting on the field again because of the journey he’s had and his perseverance.”
2. OFFENSIVE PUNCH/COUNTER-PUNCH
There was a whole lot to like about what the Bombers served up offensively in last week’s spanking of the Lions, from the return of Matt Nichols – who helped engineer four consecutive touchdown drives in the first half – to Andrew Harris cranking out 100 yards before intermission, to the work of Chris Streveler in his short-yardage role, to the offensive line not allowing a sack, to nine different players finishing with at least one reception.
Offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice will never be accused of being vanilla in his play-calling. In fact, it should be said no offensive boss in this league offers as many looks, variations and creativity than what LaPolice – along with quarterbacks coach Buck Pierce, running backs coach Kevin Bourgoin and offensive line guru Marty Costello – showcase every week with the Bombers.
That’s important, because surely the Lions will attempt to throw up some roadblocks – different roadblocks – than what we saw last week.
“I’m excited about it. We’ve got momentum,” said Harris. “I feel like we played a full 60 minutes and it always feels good to get a win, so you want to keep it rolling.
“On film, the week before they did a lot of pressuring and they didn’t really pressure us that much, so I’m thinking homefield advantage for them, they’re going to want to get their crowd into it and so I’m assuming that’s what they’re going to do, that’s something they’ve done on us the last couple of years. I’m expecting a more physical game from them. We’ve just got to match that better and hit them in the mouth first.”
3. DEFENSIVE PUNCH/COUNTER-PUNCH
And there was a whole lot to like about what the Bombers served up defensively in last week’s spanking of the Lions, from the two-interception effort of Adam Bighill – who also returned one for a score – to the four sacks from the defensive line (two from Jackson Jeffcoat, singles from Tristan Okpalaugo and Craig Roh), to a third interception from Chris Randle, to a pass defence that held the Lions to just 173 yards passing.
It was an important bounce-back effort from a unit that was once again under the microscope in the days leading up to the game after struggling the week previous against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Now, as always, the question is can they serve up the same effort Saturday and again next week and the week after that.
“That’s what it’s about, that’s what we strive for: consistency,” said cornerback Chris Randle. “Last week was definitely a step in the right direction. We came in this week with the same mindset, same focus and now we’ve got to put it out there on film.”
THE QBS
- Winnipeg’s Matt Nichols is 22-9 in his last 30 starts and 30-21 in his career.
- B.C.’s Jonathon Jennings has a career record of 20-20-0. If Travis Lulay starts, his career record is 42-27.
ROSTER SHUFFLE
The Bombers are making four changes to their 46-man roster. Coming on this week are new DB Jeff Hecht, WR Tylor Henry, RB Johnny Augustine and LB Ian Wild. Coming off the roster are LB Shayne Gauthier, RB Kienan LaFrance, DE Trent Corney and DB Brandon Alexander. Gauthier and Corney have been moved to the six-game injured list; LaFrance and Alexander from the 46-man roster to the one-game injured list.
The loss of Gauthier is more impactful than you might think – heading into this week he leads the entire CFL with nine special teams tackles.
3 BOMBERS TO WATCH
#12 Adarius Bowman, SB: The one name that was absent from the offensive scoresheet last week was Bowman, who did not have a catch and was targeted only twice. Both Nichols and LaPolice talked about missed opportunities with Bowman, but that’s two blank sheets in four games. And with a couple of promising youngsters on the practice roster in Kenbrell Thompkins and Corey Washington – along with veteran Ryan Lankford – Bowman simply needs to be more productive.
#33 Andrew Harris, RB: A number to munch on, as it relates to Harris: in his last two games against the Lions he has carried 20 times for 173 yards – a whopping 8.65-yard average – while in his last four games against B.C. he has 26 catches. Translation? He’s been busy, he’s a workhorse. And until the Lions can stop him, expect more of the same.
#67 Cory Johnson, DT: The Bombers pressure against the Lions QBs came primarily from their defensive ends. But both Drake Nevis and Cory Johnson have been getting excellent push up the middle while solid against the run.
X-FACTOR
#1 Darvin Adams, WR: The veteran wideout has posted some of his best numbers against the Lions. He had a 127-yard game against B.C in 2015 and a two-TD game in Vancouver last season. Including last week’s game – and excluding the October 14th meeting last season when he started but was injured early – Adams has four touchdowns in his last five games against B.C.
CRITICAL NUMBER
.710: The Bombers winning percentage since Matt Nichols became the club’s starter on July 28th, 2016. Winnipeg is 22-9 over that span
QUOTABLE
“It depends… Wally sometimes plays Jedi mind tricks with you. He uses reverse psychology to get guys fired up. I’m not really sure (what he’d say), I know he just wants them to respond in a better way, especially at home. He always preaches you’re only as good as your last game. After that game I’m assuming he’s putting some pressure on some guys in certain ways and Iooking for them to respond.” – the Bombers Harris, who spent six years in B.C., when asked what Lions head coach Wally Buono would be like this week after last Saturday’s loss.
MISCELANEOUS
- The Bombers four consecutive touchdowns on four possessions last week marked the only time the club has accomplished that feat in the period the CFL has detailed drive-possession data (from 1995-2018)
- The Lions have yet to eclipse the 200-yard passing mark through their first three games. The last time they hit that low was October 28-November 6, 2001, or a span of 294 games.
- The Bombers rank first offensively in points per game (32.5), offensive touchdowns (17), rushing TDs (7) and passing TDs (8) and yet don’t have a receiver in the Top 13 of receiving yardage. Weston Dressler ranks 14th, with 17 receptions for 188 yards.
